New Info From Lotus on tyres

[Delsexcel]

But not entirely helpful yet!
I asked Club Lotus if they could find out what is happening at Lotus with regard to approving an alternative to the 215/50 ZR15 tyre for the Excel. Alan Morgan, Chairman of Club Lotus has kindly agreed to me publishing his reply in full:

First, here is my request:

There is much discussion on the Excel forum regarding suitable replacement tyres for the Excel, now that 215/50 ZR15's are few & far between. Here, in France, the CT (Control Technique - = MOT) take a very dim view of any variation from the manufacturers specification. We already have had to replace 2 brand new tyres on our old Volvo because they were slightly larger than the originals.
It has been reported that Lotus are testing 205/50 for the Excel & will issue a recommendation. In your priviledged position are you able to make enquiries at Lotus to establish the facts please?
Best Wishes
Derek

And Alan's reply:

Hi Derek,

I've been speaking to Brian Angus at Lotus about this for some time. As well as owning an Excel and therefore being a particular fan of the car, all Guigiaro Esprits also use 215/50's on the front so it's a very important tyre for club members.

Brian's view for some time has been that 205/50 was the way to go. The rolling radius is virtually the same as 215's therefore the effect on the speedo is minimal - a net over-reading of only 2-3% which is acceptable. They also fit well without fouling the wheelarch - which 225's will do at the front on full lock although it's not really a major problem (I know
as I've got them on my car).

Unfortunately he's not been able to formally recommend them (via a factory tech bulletin as usual) as due to budget cuts at Hethel he's been unable to track test possible tyre brands (I'd offered my car for this and was planning to write a feature for CLN). Everything therefore stalled.

Your email prompted me to call him this morning and he's going to get onto it this week. He thinks that ASO may have made some progress with this and he'll check today.

Brian's a good guy and together I'm very hopeful we'll make some useful progress very soon.

I'll keep you up to date with developments.

Best regards,

Alan

So: Keep your fingers crossed!

[Delsexcel]

This topic is not forgotten - hope to give you an update very soon!